On February 28, 2025, Lidia Brito, UNESCO's Assistant Director-General for Natural Sciences, wrote to Prof. Guo Huadong, CBAS Director-General——“I am pleased to inform you of the endorsement of your initiative entitled “Digital Sustainable Development Goals Programme” as a Programme of the International Decade of Sciences for Sustainable Development (IDSSD).”
About DSP
Digital Sustainable Development Goals Programme (DSP), a pioneer program led by Prof. Guo, was jointly initiated by 35 global research institutions, universities, and international scientific and technological organizations with an aim to establish a new paradigm for digital sustainable development science through data-intensive science and innovative solutions. By leveraging transformative digital technologies, it seeks to deepen our understanding of the scientific laws governing human-nature interactions and to advance the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The lead institution, International Research Center of Big Data for Sustainable Development Goals (CBAS), is an international research institution pledged by Xi during his speech at the General Debate of the 75th session of the UN General Assembly. When CBAS was officially established in 2021, President Xi emphasized in his congratulatory letter that various parties and stakeholders around the world can take advantage of the new research center to enhance international cooperation, jointly facilitate the fulfillment of the 2030 UN agenda, and contribute to building a community with a shared future for mankind.
Background
In 2015, the UN 2030 Agenda was adopted, outlining a shared blueprint for global peace, prosperity, and sustainable development. However, over the past decade, progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has been less than satisfactory. Only 17% of the goals have seen significant advancement, with nearly half experiencing slow progress and over a third stagnating or regressing. This has led the world to enter a new phase focused on re-evaluating and accelerating SDG implementation.
In August 2023, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution declaring 2024-2033 as the International Decade of Science for Sustainable Development (IDSSD). Led by UNESCO, this "Science Decade" aims to harness the power of all scientific disciplines to drive global social, economic, and environmental sustainability. CBAS began collaborating with UNESCO on this scientific plan in April 2024 and officially submitted the DSP proposal in July 2024. After an 8-month review by the IDSSD Secretariat, a committee of renowned scientists, and an Executive Committee composed of representatives from international scientific and technological organizations, UN agencies, and UNESCO member states, the plan was approved.
Vision and Mission
As a 10-year international scientific program under the IDSSD framework, DSP will integrate research efforts across Earth and environmental sciences, social sciences, and digital sciences. It will form interdisciplinary international research teams and establish a global sustainable development digital intelligence platform. This platform will enhance the transparency and reusability of sustainable development public products and boost global research capabilities in using digital technologies to promote sustainable development. The DSP will provide data and evidence-based solutions to the UN, governments, stakeholders, and the scientific community, realizing sustainable development through digital transformation.
Taking the initiative as an important measure to implement the spirit of President Xi's congratulatory letter, Prof. Guo believed that the approval of this program reflects Chinese leadership and scientific responsibility in the fields of data science, digital technology, and sustainable development——"Through the implementation of this initial ten-year plan, we will collaborate with international scientists to address sustainable development scientific issues on a global scale using digital technologies represented by big data and AI, tackle major challenges in sustainable development, and promote the improvement of global scientific governance mechanisms. This will make significant scientific contributions to advancing the implementation of global development initiatives and open science international cooperation initiatives, accelerating the achievement of global sustainable development goals."